1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the separation of a substance from a mixture of substances and more particularly refers to a new and improved method and apparatus for the separation of an isotope substance from a mixture of isotope substances subjected to irradiation by an electromagnetic wave.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The separation of mixtures of substances, particularly of isotopes or isotope compounds, using the principle of selective excitation, dissociation or ionization of the one substance, preferably under conditions to chemically react with a separately supplied other reaction partner is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 614,213. In the process of the latter application, the initially vaporous substances are decompressed adiabatically to temperatures below 100.degree. K. and then before condensation occurs are irradiated by an electromagnetic wave, preferably by a laser beam of appropriate frequency confined in a resonator. The expansion usually takes place in a vacuum chamber which is connected to appropriate vacuum pumps and/or is equipped with condensation devices. The pressure reduction required with this method is about 4 to 5 orders of magnitude, for example, for an adiabate coefficient K=1.33 corresponding to UF.sub.6 with supplemental gas, necessitating considerable pumping and cooling capacity to maintain the high vacuum.
In the case of installations of considerable capacity, this means large expenditures in capital investment, and also substantially affects the economy of the method because of the high operating costs.